The End Justifies The Means
by KatieCharlotte
Summary: You have to kill, because there's no other choice, because there's nothing else left to do. She's dead to you, it doesn't matter who you hurt, because she's dead; and nothing brings back the dead. That doesn't mean you don't regret it all... Aerrow/Piper


**Author's note: **_this isn't my best work, and perhaps it's a little too rushed. But I just don't make the time, sadly. Still, I hope this is still good enough to be enjoyed :)_

* * *

"Aerrow…"

"Enough, Finn."

"But dude, Piper, she –"

"I said _enough_, Finn. Don't mention her name again. I've told you before, she's dead. Piper is dead."

The Sky Knight turns away from his wing man, brushes aside the hand resting on his shoulder; the atmosphere thick with uneasiness, anger, regret… and emptiness. This whole business has destroyed their friendship, their entire squadron, _their family_. Aerrow has been eaten up with guilt and the thirst for revenge; each subsequent day he looks less like the leader Finn knew and more like the man they named their enemy.

The Dark Ace took Piper, and now he's taking Aerrow; he may as well as take the whole team after that. You take one, you take them all. Soon there will be nothing left of the Storm Hawks.

Such is the problem of being so close. When you lose someone, love seems only to worsen the whole experience; when you turn to grief, love becomes your enemy.

Love has become Aerrow's enemy.

Finn can only watch, horrified as his Sky Knight disappears beneath a shroud of madness; the boy should have _mourned _Piper's passing – instead he only exudes hatred. Finn has cried, Junko has cried, Radarr too… even Stork.

But the Sky Knight will not cry, not until he sees them dead; both of them. Him and her.

The flame of hope is flickering, steadily dying; the Storm Hawks hang onto it by a thread but Aerrow has cast all hope aside. Vengeance is bubbling beneath his cold exterior; the time for futile dreams and aspirations is over. Piper is never coming back. He has accepted this. But now he'll take down the woman responsible. He'll take down _The Master._ And that bastard, the Dark Ace, if possible.

He'll take them both down. Let them burn in the wastelands below.

Aerrow pulls out his energy blades, runs his finger along the metal tip, tightens his grip on the handle, imagines running it through her chest; ending her life, he must end her life. She cannot live, she is a danger to the Atmos – there is no hope for her_._

"Are we really going to do this?"

"Of course. We strike now whilst the army is weak, Cyclonia won't stand a chance; we take them all down."

"We're not even going to _try _talking to her? Try to change her mind, her intentions? It may not be too late to stop this. Cyclonis took Piper, but who's to say we can't bring her back!"

The Sky Knight doesn't listen, his emerald eyes darken as Finn's pleas grow ever more desperate, he shuts out his friend's face and thinks only of the task he has set himself. "Quiet Finn, orders are orders. This time, _no mercy_."

Finally, the sharp shooter finds himself growing angry; a look of contempt appears on his smooth features as he regards his captain. "You sound more like the Dark Ace every day – you know that, right? Maybe that was Cyclonis' intentions all along…"

Aerrow glances over to his second-in-command, hisses through clenched teeth. "_What's __**that**__ supposed to mean?"_

"Perhaps she wanted a new look for the both of them? Herself _and_ her esteemed Talon. You're certainly beginning to fit the part. But…" Finn hesitates, shakes himself, sighs. "But… you are Captain. And the Storm Hawks will follow you to the end."

The two men stand for a moment, locked in a battle of consciences, both believing that they represent the truth, both knowing the right course of action.

A short nod from the Sky Knight. "Let's do this."

* * *

_They took her from me, she took her from me. And now she stands for everything I loathe, everything I hate and fight against. And now she's stronger. She was always stronger, but she always used to be fighting beside me. I have to do this. I have to end it. _

_I love you Piper._

_I'm sorry._

_I'm doing this for you._

_You'd want me to do it, really. The real you. You wouldn't want to be remembered this way. You'd want me to take her down, end it, kill her. _

_I'll find you one day, Piper. When this is all over. _

_She isn't you. She never was you. Never will be. I'll finish her, Piper. Then you will be at peace, and the Atmos won't be in danger anymore. I can't let her live._

_I loved you Piper._

_I'm sorry._

* * *

Guards lie dead around their feet, blood trickles from opened wounds, stains their uniforms.

The Storm Hawks stand united by the carnage they have caused, by the death they have inflicted; they will bring their enemies to their knees and watch as they plead for mercy, but they will offer none. That's what happens when you lose someone you love, you lose a part of you – the part of you that cared.

Aerrow inspects his team, "you all know the plan?"

They nod, perhaps a little hesitantly. The Sky Knight knows they do not like it, the Sky Knight knows that the last thing they want to do is follow orders; but through their loyalty to him, to their cause, they shall do as he says. They have faith in him. _The right path, is never the easy one._

"We want peace, and this is the only way to achieve it. This is what Piper would have wanted."

"You keep saying that," Finn mutters darkly, "and the more you do, the less I believe you."

Aerrow's eyes flash with anger, he turns to face his 'friend', grips his blades, ignites their crystal energy. "Don't start now, Finn."

"Or what? You'll end me too? Do we mean that little to you? Some leader you are, some _friend…_"

The Sky Knight's lip curls upwards, the other teammates back away in fear, not wanting to get involved, knowing that they should stop it – consciences divided.

Finn raises his crossbow a little higher, Aerrow prepares his weapons; one of them is going down, one of them is going to be victorious. And to hell with the loser, they're not part of the _family_ anymore. But would they kill? Could Aerrow _kill?_ Could Finn?

But their battle never ensues, the shadows are moving around them, too quick for the others to notice, Aerrow is too engrossed in his hatred to even care. But Finn, Finn whose heart remains pure, Finn sees…

He lunges out, shoots an arrow, raises his crossbow just in time as it clashes with another blade, one that glows a deep crimson mirroring the deadly eyes of its owner. A furious snarl as the shadow's attack is prevented.

"Get out of my way, _boy_. You weren't my target."

"Yeah well… unlike _you_ I **never** miss."

Aerrow stumbles aside as the Dark Ace and his wing-man continue to force their weapons against each other, heart aching at the thought that he had been thinking of ending Finn's life… what had become of him!

Cries echo throughout the room as more Cyclonians enter; Radarr, Junko and Stork take their positions, Finn is still battling desperately against their leader, the Sky Knight gets to his feet, prepares to come to his aid.

A firm hand on his shoulder, he turns, sees the large eyes of Junko staring down into his own; "go, Aerrow… we can handle this. You need to get to the throne room."

"I can't just abandon you, you're my team!"

"_Didn't - stop you – before…" _Finn grunts under the strain of resisting the Dark Ace's blade.

"Seriously, Aerrow. Go. You know what you're going to do. Don't let these guys stop you… _go."_

Aerrow turns, Aerrow runs away. They're his friends, they're his team, they're his family… they've got it covered. Because even though they don't agree with his decision, deep down there's this horrible acceptance that there is nothing else left to do.

One option left – and it's death.

* * *

"I was expecting you here a lot sooner, you're slipping Aerrow."

The words slip through the air like ghosts, spoken by a woman formed through hatred and sacrifice and suffering; the suffering she now chooses to inflict upon others.

"A momentary hesitation, that's all."

"Hesitations reveal _weakness_, Aerrow." The Storm Hawk shudders as he listens to that voice, listens to the words that should not belong to this creature, words that belonged to someone else… "Your weakness lies within your _heart_ – _because you __**still**__ have one. _Look at me, I destroyed mine, and I'm looking better than ever. My predecessor would be so _pleased_ to see what has become of her kingdom, on the verge of a war in which I shall _annihilate_ all life."

"You couldn't do that. You're not capable of that sort of thing, not really."

"Oh I am, Storm Hawk; at least, _now¸ _I am."

Aerrow grips his weapons tighter, his emerald eyes fired up with anger and rage and… heartbreak.

"I will stop you, if I have to. I cannot and **will not** let you destroy everything we worked for. I will kill you, – whatever it takes to stop you from undoing our life's work."

"You haven't got the _guts_ to kill me, because you have the heart to let me live. I'm all that's left, the only remaining memory of your one true love. I'm the last echo of Piper."

The blades are fired with energy, "I will hear no more of this."

A twisted smile from dark lips, the Master pulls her staff from beneath her cloak, wields in threateningly.

There are no more words that Aerrow wants to say, no more he wants to hear; they both lunge forward, weapons clashing, this way, that way. That maddening cackle, hiding the sweet laughter of a girl Aerrow used to know; it drives him on, she taunts, not knowing it's only fuelling his desire to kill, to end his _own_ torment, not just hers.

She fires a shot towards him, he isn't quick enough, it hits his shoulder and knocks him off his feet; he can smell flesh burning, there's a searing pain but he blocks it out well enough. Someone stands above him, smiling to themselves smugly; she's too confident of herself, too certain of his weakness.

There's that flash of amber behind the violet, in the face of the girl that Aerrow can just about remember.

Cyclonis took her away, but Piper still lives on as the she-demon who should be dead.

She's as good as dead to Aerrow, but this face, this body… it used to be hers. Her mind is lost.

_And there's no way to bring her back._

So end it. End it now, whilst you have the chance.

"I'm going to kill you, Sky Knight; and then maybe one day, you too will be fighting in my army. You'll be like the puppet your Crystal Mage became. Then you'll finally be together… sort of."

_No, Piper was no puppet – she killed you, and you cheated. You cheated death, took her instead. I loved her, but I will never love you, your face means nothing to me; I loved her spirit, and that is all but gone._

And then the blade's inside of her, piercing her chest and ripping through the flesh the other side; and Aerrow's standing there, steaming blood splattering all over his face; and she's screaming, crying, _laughing_… because Aerrow has freed her.

Her body falls limp upon him, those amber eyes stare up at him, gazing into a place the Sky Knight can neither see nor reach. And finally he sees the face of the girl he loved, the darkness removed from her beautiful features; and finally he has a body to bury, the body of a girl who died a long time ago, when the dying Cyclonis took over her body.

But Aerrow has mourned her passing already, he has no more tears to cry, he let her go, moved on; now he only holds the body of a stranger. _But he'll bury her anyway, for decency's sake._

He returns to his fatigued team, lying on the floor, covered in blood and bruises and open wounds. Their eyes fall on the figure in his arms, wrapped up in a purple cloak; they do not cry, because they accept that she's already dead, has been for years – this is Cyclonis, not Piper. Nothing can be done.

But Finn stands, stares into the eyes of his captain. "At least we have her body."

"If that's any sort of consolation."

"We can at least put her to rest, Aerrow; Piper can finally be put to rest. And so can the rest of us."

"You maybe, but not me… I know she isn't Piper, I know it was Cyclonis in her body… but it was still _her_ body… the body that I touched and loved and held… and now all I can see is my blade rammed through her heart."

"It was for the best. Don't doubt yourself now… not when it's too late..."

Silence falls, the friends don't know what else to say. Except…

"Thank you, for stopping the Dark Ace from… _you know_. Thanks… I guess, yeah, _thanks_."

"Don't mention it."

"Is he dead?"

"Of course, they all are."

"Good."

_Good._

* * *

He chooses Neverlandis for your final resting place, Piper. A pretty spot on the hill, with a view of the sunset and the never ending sky before it. He thought you'd like it there.

He doesn't visit, because he can't take the pain. He won't admit it, but it's guilt he feels, like he didn't try hard enough to save you.

But there was one time, not long after your second death, when he visited... just for a few minutes, to tell you something. Something important.

And those words linger there, like an echo, like a memory.

"_I'm sorry too."_

He had to kill you, because you weren't you anymore; but that doesn't mean he hadn't wished for things to be different, that doesn't mean he doesn't sometimes _regret_ his decision.

He said his piece, and then he left, because he couldn't feel you there; because, as he believed, it wasn't you lying in the grave, just your body. Your spirit left many years before, and _that_ is why he is sorry.

Because you shouldn't have died in the first place.

Because Aerrow let you down.

The last thing you saw, Piper, wasn't Aerrow killing you, it was Aerrow holding you, telling you to fight her, telling you he loved you, telling you not to give up, not to let her take over.

And the one thing you said to him in reply:

"_I'm sorry_."

Because you couldn't do anything to stop Cyclonis from taking over, because you were weaker than Aerrow realised; because you let him down, only he doesn't think that. He just wishes that things could have been different.

Your grave stands alone, on an abandoned terra, the flowers left for you have withered away; but those words remain, floating in the breeze as though permanently etched upon your bare tombstone.

"_I'm sorry too."_


End file.
